People today are more concerned with physical fitness than ever before. Doctors say that regular exercise is the key to living longer. Over the past few decades, gymnasium membership has skyrocketed. These places have many devices to aid individuals who want to exercise. The devices include treadmills, complex nautilus devices, rowing machines, stationary bicycles, etc. Most of this equipment is very expensive. People, in increasing numbers, are buying much less expensive devices for home use to enable them to keep fit.
The Present Invention is an exercise apparatus designed to aid people in doing sit-ups and stomach crunches. Most people who do these exercises lie on the floor. However, sit-ups performed from this position place undue strain on the neck, upper back, and shoulder muscles. A number of devices are sold commercially to assist people to do the sit-up and stomach crunch exercises. One such device is a canvas and aluminum chair that expands during the lying down part of the cycle, and bends during the sitting up part of the cycle. However this chair does not offer much resistance. So, while using it may feel good because exercising with it is easy, it does not do much to strengthen abdominal muscles. The adage is: “no pain . . . no gain!”
The disadvantages of the devices for this purpose that are currently on the market are:
they do not accommodate heavy or tall people;
they are limited to specific extensions;
they are not comfortable;
they do not offer resistance;
they do not assist in the exercise process.